Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a tragic plane crash early Wednesday morning. The small aircraft, en route from Mumbai to Baramati, went down near Baramati Airport during a landing attempt, killing all five people on board, including Pawar, two pilots, and his security personnel.
The flight had departed from Mumbai around 8:00 a.m., and the crash occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m., according to preliminary reports. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation confirmed that all five passengers on board lost their lives in the accident.
Pawar, who was scheduled to participate in four major public meetings in the run-up to the local body elections, leaves behind his wife Sunetra Pawar and their two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.
Ajit Pawar was one of Maharashtra’s most seasoned politicians and the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of the state in non-consecutive terms. He served six times as Deputy Chief Minister across different administrations, working under chief ministers including Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray, and Eknath Shinde.
Pawar began his political journey in 1982, when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory. He went on to lead the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank as its chairman after his 1991 election.
In the same year, Pawar was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Baramati parliamentary constituency. He later vacated the seat in favour of his uncle, senior leader Sharad Pawar. Pawar was also a seven-time member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Baramati Assembly constituency, winning elections in 1991 (by-poll), 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
In November 2019, Ajit Pawar orchestrated a split in the NCP, joining a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and assuming the role of Deputy Chief Minister. In February 2024, the Election Commission awarded the NCP name and official electoral symbol to the faction led by him, solidifying his leadership of the party.
The sudden and tragic death of Ajit Pawar has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra’s political establishment, with widespread tributes pouring in from leaders across party lines.